Buying a House with Kids in Mind

A friend and his wife are buying their first house, and although childless at the moment, want to buy a house with kids in mind and asked me what to look for. We've seen some of our friends scramble to find a new house with the arrival of a first or second kid, or have to make do with a house that was perfect for the newly married couple, but not for a larger family.

We had a baby on the way when we were looking for our current home, so kid-suitable was on our mind. And now that we're fully immersed in life with a toddler, my list of must-have's and other considerations has grown.

Number and location of bedrooms
Having at least two bedrooms (preferrably three) on one level is the number one feature of a home to look for if you want to have kids (such a layout can actually be quite a challenge to find if you're house-hunting in St. Paul). You will want babies and young kids in a room next to you because it brings peace of mind and saves aggravation of running up and down stairs to attend to kids in the middle of the night. We have a ground floor master bedroom with an attached 3/4 bathroom, but Chris and I will be crammed into the middle bedroom upstairs I guess until the kids are old enough to come downstairs in the middle of the night to find us.

Also, even though kids can share rooms, newborns and toddlers sharing rooms can be a tricky balance since they're on such different sleep/nap schedules. I'm thankful now for that third bedroom upstairs. Oliver and Baby #2 will get their own rooms, but if there's a third baby, Baby #2 and Oliver will share and Baby #3 will actually get its own room for the first two years or so.

Terrain of the property
If the house sits on a hill, there will be many steps just to get to the front door, and imagine hiking those steps while hauling a stroller up to the porch after a walk or trying to carry a baby in the winter.

If there's a deck out back, there might be a steep drop-off, something that would make me very nervous once my kids were of climbing age. Plus, you want the yard to be easily accessible (no having to go down to the basement to get outside or climbing down a steep set of deck stairs) and have enough flat terrain for the kids to play.

Bathroom with a tub
At least one bathroom in the house must have a bathtub or you can just keep looking - the house will simply not work for kids. Having a bathroom, and the one with the tub, by the kids room also makes life a little easier.

Fenced-in yard
No fence around the backyard isn't a deal-breaker, because you can put one in, (but may be expensive) but having a fenced-in yard is a so helpful once kids hit the toddler age, because they don't understand boundaries or directions yet and they have selective hearing. :)

No carpet in the dining room
Again this doesn't have to be a deal-breaker since carpet is replaceable, (even easier if there are salvageable hardwood floors underneath) but just asssume that renovating the dining room floor will be a must-do before moving in. Kids or no kids, I don't know why anyone thinks carpet in the dining room is a good idea.

Drop-offs in the house
Any home that has a room with a half-wall connecting one level from the other, (like a lofted space over-looking a living room) is a huge safety concern in my opinion. Just like with a deck, I'd be terrified Oliver would push a chair up to the wall, (kids love pushing furniture around the house, so it's not out of the question) climb on the chair and fall over the wall.

Also, split levels are notorious for those wrought-iron railings and at a minimum, your kid will annoy you to death by throwing toys through that railing.

Swimming pool
I'm glad we don't live in Florida or California where it seems every house has a pool, because as a parent with a young child, I do not want a pool (or to even have another water feature, like a stormwater pond, bordering the property, unless there were a fence). We did see a house with a pool during our seachr (a rarity in St. Paul), and if we had bought it, we would have filled it in (it wasn't in great shape as it was).

Other things that aren't deal-brakers, but you might want to consider....

Open concept
I hated the open concept plan in our place in Stillwater, (Chris didn't like the noise I created in the kitchen while he tried watching TV and I didn't like my mess in the kitchen so much on display for guests) but now I see the benefit of having the first floor open so you can see what the kids are up to while you're making dinner. We're doing fine with the layout of our house now, (benefit of a small house is that open or not, you're never very far from the kids even if they're in another room) but if open concept is not your style, don't completely discredit it.

That said, if you need space for a home office or hobbies, make sure it's in a space that can be closed off from kids. I see a lot of finished basements that are playroom on one side and mom and dad's computer space on the other end...toddlers, especially, will get into anything they can reach and that isn't physically blocked off.

Single-level homes
I wouldn't pass up a house I was in love with because it had two levels, but after staying in a single-level house in Santa Fe that at most, had a small step-up into the home from the driveway or yard, I understand why single-level homes are so attractive if you have little kids. There was no schlepping babies up and down flights of stairs and no taking ten minutes just to grab something from your bedroom because your toddler wants to come with you and climb the stairs - painstakingly slowly - himself.

Garage
We were ready to give up a garage when moving back to the city, but I'm thankful we got a house with one. I find it easier to park my car on the street during the non-snow months, but standing on top of a snow bank and trying to load your kid in the car is a pain. A garage also keeps your car cooler or warmer, depending upon the weather, and that difference is enough when you're putting your baby in a freezing cold or burning hot car.

Space for your kid stuff
Okay, so our enclosed front porch doesn't look great littered with strollers, but at least there's a place to put the stroller after a walk without having to schlepp it (and the kid) to the back of the house to stow the stroller in the garage and then have to carry Oliver back in the house. I like that our garage is extra wide too so that we have room to fit our cars and strollers off to the side for long-term storage. And who knows how many outdoor play things you'll accumulate too and they all need a place to be stored.

Think about storage inside the house too. With smaller homes, you might not be able to have a separate playroom, but closets are helpful for stowing big playthings when guests come over. If you're thinking of more than one kid, think about where you'll store all the stuff you're saving from kid #1 for future kid #2.

Busy streets and noise producers
Every realtor we've had has steered us clear of busy streets, but with kids it becomes a safety and quality of life issue (noise). Watch out for other sources of noise, like a fire station or a playground. Little did we know that our house sits three houses away from the neighborhood's tornado siren...

Mudroom or proper entry closets
Your kid may be smaller than you, but he or she will have just as many shoes, boots, jackets, scarves, mittens, etc. and will eventually have a bookbag, musical instruments, sports equipment and whatever else they will dump at the door after getting off the school bus. This will all need somewhere to go, while also being accessible for the next mad dash out the door.